The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-10-17
ABOUT THE LocKSMITH's ART.
An Old Craftsman's Lament-The Factory
Made Lock-Locks for Jails.

An Old Crarsman's Lament-The Factory
Made Lock-Loclts for Jails.
LChicago NewsI
Tell you something about lock
smiths exclaimed an old craftsman
dolefully: there are none any more
The trade is dead. Locks are all made
now by machinery, except, perhaps,
safe and prison locks; those are hand
made because they afford greater Sc
curity than the other kind. Time was
when the lock maker was smith and
belI-hanger as well, and the trade was
good one; but it is all changed now,
and we do nothing now except repair
ing, or occasionally duplicating a key
that has been lost.
THE factory made lock has taken the
place of tina hand made article, and
driven US out of the business. Now,
perhaps, twenty men are required to
make a lock which formerly was the
work of one man. These men superin-
tend machinery by which certain parts
of the lock are made one man handles
a punch, and cuts out the tumblers;
another makes the sliderS; the springs
are made by another, and so on, until
all the parts are ready to be put to-
gether. None of these men could make
d 1OCh hlUuOub dSSlSO1uCC 4LOUA OlHOl
workmen, and they have no knowledge
of the principles Of locks.
Before the era of machinery all locks
were made by hand. That is why old
locksmiths understand their business so
well. But there are very few smiths OF
the old school in the business now.
Most of them have quit making locks,
and are making sewing machines. The
principles on which sewing machines
are made can be easily understood by
any lockSmith, and there is more money
to be made IN the new business.
Yes, the modern lock is superior to
the old fashioned one, and for this rea-
son, it is harder to pick. The old lock
was made to accommodate large key,
so that no matter how fine the con
struction inside an accomplished cracks
man could always get an idea Of the
works. The key-hole being large, he
would insert wire, the END Of which
being covered with wax, would receive
an impression of the style o. key TO-
quired to open the lock. i WAS
easy matter to make 2 key after
model in wax, so that almost a. Cae osC
locks could be picked with but little
difficulty.
''The patent lock of to-day requiring
d udC Key, u6H6S an attempt at picking
the works, because the key hole is so
small and the slots are too numerous.
For that reason skeleton keys are use
less to thieves nowadays, and cracks
men rely for success principally on their
possession Of duplicate keys.
" Jail work, as it is known to the
trade, is the only branch of our bust
ness where machinery is not used. All
the locks for jails and penitentiaries
are made of wrought-irOn, and con-
structed with from two to five tumblers
finished off smooth on the inside and
held together by steel screws and brass
clamps The parts When thus joined
are absolutely air tight and the only
opening in the lock is the key hole.
Such lock is as durable as can be
made
THE principle Of the modern lock is
very old. I have a book here which
gives a description of a lock found
among the ruins of the great temple Of
Karnac, and which was in use more
than forty centuries ago. The leading
principles Of this lock have served as
the foundation for most of the inven-
tons of recent times.